What’s the Best Advice for a Presentation Designer? Good Questions

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By Sheila B. Robinson

What if I asked you, “What do the most successful presentation designers do?” I’ll bet you could give me a list. Successful presentation designers:

• Know their design tools well
• Understand the properties of color and typography
• Craft memorable messages
• Create compelling slides
• Use graphic elements to tell stories
• Incorporate organizational branding

…and so on.

Would “ask good questions” be on your list? Perhaps not. But why? Isn’t every aspect of a presentation designer’s success based on their ability to ask good questions?

Image: Yay Images

Good questions are powerful!

Everything we know about the world and the way it works is the result of someone somewhere asking a really good question. A good question has the power to catalyze innovation, influence people to change behavior, or help people shift their perspectives. A good question can also connect us and strengthen relationships. And of course, the right questions get us the information we need for our work and learning.

Consider this: Who are the best doctors? The best trial lawyers? The best journalists, engineers, or business leaders? What do these people have in common? Sure, they’re all intelligent, educated, and they know their fields well, but it’s their ability to ask good, insightful questions – the right questions to elicit the information they need – that allows them to put all that knowledge into action. Asking good questions is literally what facilitates them being good at their jobs. Why would it be any different for presentation designers?

…most people just don’t understand how beneficial good questioning can be. If they did, they would end far fewer sentences with a period—and more with a question mark.
– Alison Wood Brooks and Leslie K. John, Harvard Business School professors & question researchers

Is “good communicator” on your presentation design resume?

It should be. Successful presentation designers are not only skillful at design but are also good communicators, good collaborators, and good partners.

Do you have a set of questions you ask before getting to work on a new presentation design project? Do you reflect first on what you will need to know and understand, and determine which questions will get you the information you need to scope the project? Good questions are not only the key to good design – delivering what your client needs to accomplish their goals – they are also the key to good relationships. How do the first questions you ask your clients set the stage for the kind of relationship you want to create with them?

Having a set of onboarding questions for a new client is a good start, but your questions must continue throughout the project. UX Planet offers this comprehensive list of 98 Questions UX Designers Must Ask addressing questions you might pose throughout the project. A word of caution though – don’t overwhelm your client with questions! Be intentional and choose wisely. If you have a scheduled conversation and a list of questions prepared, let your client know that upfront, so that they understand that this conversation may flow more like an interview.

How can presentation designers ask better questions?

Sometimes, it’s just a matter of slowing ourselves down and giving ourselves a little time before we figure out what questions to ask. Good questions require a bit of deep thought, good listening and observation skills, and good analytical skills. In a fast-paced world, it’s hard to reflect vs. react, but that’s exactly what we need to do.

As ironic as it sounds, I’m going to close an article on asking questions by telling you what to do.

1. Get clear on why you’re asking, and what you need to know. Are you trying to get information, shift someone’s thinking, or spark creativity? Good, meaningful questions can do all of that, but to formulate them, we must slow ourselves down, think, listen, and observe.
2. Ask more questions. Ask questions that no one else seems to be asking. Ask questions when your first instinct is to share information, react, or declare your point of view. Asking more questions is like any other habit: you must practice for it to feel natural and easy.
3. Ask all kinds of questions. Ask “who” questions, “what” questions, “how” questions, and so on. Think like a journalist! Try these simple question starters that have real power to elicit change. “What if…?” “How might we…?” “Why can’t we…?”

Here’s a bonus! If you get in the habit of asking more questions about your presentation design project, your client will likely perceive you as interested, a good listener, and even more likeable! That’s a pretty good deal, don’t you think? But the real impact will be that you’ll change your own programming and become a better questioner.

Einstein claimed, I have no special talents, I am just passionately curious. And that’s my advice for you: stay curious.

Sheila B. Robinson, Ed.D., of Custom Professional Learning, LLC is a speaker, educator, and consultant with a passion for the science of teaching and learning, presentations, and asking questions. Through her talks, professional development workshops, and university courses, Sheila teaches people how to make the most of professional learning, and how to ask good questions, along with program evaluation, survey design, data visualization, audience engagement, and presentation design.

Sheila is also a Certified Presentation Specialist (CPS)™, Director of Education, Training, and Advocacy at the Presentation Guild, and Senior Design and Facilitation Consultant with Evergreen Data.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.